


Body Over Mind

by aviatrix8



Category: Kill la Kill
Genre: Body Worship, Friendship, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Unrequited Lust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 06:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4777769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aviatrix8/pseuds/aviatrix8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iori dreads Inumuta finding out that he prefers his body over his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Body Over Mind

It was another quiet moment in the office of the Sewing Club president… Iori was busy handstitching the final touches on a 2-star uniform that was hanging on a dress form, while Inumuta sat at Iori’s desk, uploading Life Fiber data to the sewing president’s personal computer.

The handstitching wasn’t completely necessary, Iori had to admit… He could certainly leave such grunt work to an underling; but Iori preferred to add a personal touch to all his uniforms. And the lighting was much better here in his office for hand sewing, though Iori was careful to wear his gas mask even in here, lest he accidently inhale the toxic dust generated by the Life Fibers.

Iori idly wondered if Inumuta minded the brighter lighting in his office, though. He’d always had the impression that hackers and the like preferred darkened rooms, so to better see the glows of their monitors. However, Inumuta didn’t complain about the light, so Iori dismissed the thought from his mind.

Absorbed in their respective tasks, the pair sat in companionable silence… Until one of them decided to break the ice.

“So Iori… Which do you prefer, the mind or the body?”

Iori paused in his stitching, to contemplate the question.

“What do you mean, Inumuta?” he asked, in a careful tone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Inumuta shrug. “Oh, I don’t know. Take me, for example. Which do you prefer more, my mind or my body?”

Unbeknownst to Inumuta, Iori had just stuck himself in the finger with his needle. Fortunately, like every good tailor, he was wearing a thimble; unfortunately for him, he had been wearing it on his thumb.

Iori sucked at his index finger and mentally cursed. The question that he never expected to hear, but had always dreaded, had finally come up… He knew what answer Inumuta expected from him; his mind, of course. But Iori knew he couldn’t honestly answer that question without saying, ‘Your body, Inumuta’, and he felt himself cringe inside.

***

To be fair, Iori didn’t care for Inumuta’s body that much more than his mind… But the fact of the matter was, Iori had been enamoured with Inumuta's figure ever since he first took the latter's measurements, and saw his unclothed body. Until that moment, all he had seen was a smug know-it-all, too confident in his abilities and his self-worth… But then Iori had seen what was underneath that terribly ratty hoodie of Inumuta’s… He was also somewhat annoyed at himself, for being so shallow.

Oh, Iori knew Inumuta’s body wasn’t everyone’s ideal form. For some, he would be too tall, too lean, too skinny. But for a tailor like Iori, Inumuta’s figure was perfect; clothing would hang wonderfully on that long, lean frame. And because of this, Iori could sew clothes for him like he could for no one else; Inumuta was the muse that inspired him. He could wax poetic on the perfection of his limbs, worship at the temple that was his body (although Iori would rather die than let Inumuta know all this).

It was then that Iori began to realize that his fascination with Inumuta’s body might be more than just the relationship between an artist and his muse… He had come to the disturbing realization that as much as he enjoyed dressing up Inumuta in clothes he created, Iori was even more interested in ripping those clothes off his model.

It was a worrying thought, to say the least. He and Inumuta had finally gotten to a point in their relationship where Inumuta actually respected Iori’s knowledge in the field of Life Fibers; and picturing someone who you actually earned the respect of, completely naked, was not helping matters…

Up until this point, Iori had always thought he was in love with Lady Satsuki. And while he did genuinely care for her, and found her beautiful (who could not?), it was nothing compared to the unbridled desire he felt for Inumuta; it was as infuriating as the man himself. Plus, it was unexpected… When he was taking art classes to help sharpen his design skills, Iori had drawn dozens of nude life studies, both male and female, yet he had felt nothing akin to the attraction that he felt now. So, Iori was still coming to grips with how he could be attracted to someone so insufferable, yet so brilliant and beautiful…

Things came to a head when Inumuta modelled Probe Regalia for the first time, in front the rest of the Elite Four. Iori hadn’t even noticed what he had designed until he realized he’d have to explain why the rest of the Elite Four was dressed in impressive armour, while Inumuta was clothed in something skintight and revealing… Iori found himself cringing inside, while the rest of Elite Four gave him looks that alternated between 'What the hell is he wearing?’ and knowing leers.

Fortunately, any uncomfortable questions that might’ve been directed at Iori were suddenly forgotten, as Inumuta displayed his uncanny flexibility by bending over backwards, while typing in Probe Regalia. That pretty much derailed any coherent conversation, for a while…

***

Iori was suddenly aware that he was taking too long to respond; he looked up, to see Inumuta gazing at him somewhat curiously.

“It’s not that difficult a question to answer, is it?” asked Inumuta.

“No, no!” protested Iori, then sighed. “The truth is… I like your body more than your mind, all right?”

There was a pause.

“What, really?”

“Yes, really!”

There was a look of mild dismay on Inumuta’s face, which made Iori hasten to add, “It’s not much more than your mind, okay? But I do prefer your body over your mind; you’re the one who asked, right?”

“But why?”

“Why? Because…” Iori tried to sum up all the reasons in his head, then sort of gave up on it. “Because clothes fit your body so well, that’s all.”

Iori then saw the expression on Inumuta’s face, and found himself burying his own face in his palm.

“You’re offended, aren’t you…”

“Not offended, just… Surprised,” admitted Inumuta. “To be honest, I’ve never thought very much about my own body. I’m not particularly athletic, though I do have some natural flexibility. And I’ve always prided myself on my mental capabilities. To hear that anyone would prefer my body over my mind is… Astonishing, to say the least.”

Iori’s brow wrinkled at this. “Why did you ask the question in the first place, then?”

“It was a rhetorical question,” Inumuta admitted. “Honestly, I never thought your answer would be anything but 'mind’… How fascinating.” He then pulled out his laptop and began typing into it. “I’ll have to file away that information for future reference…”

Iori watched Inumuta typing away in amazement, then shook his head. Smiling quietly to himself, he turned back to his sewing, as both continued their work in comfortable silence.


End file.
